Naming practices in the biblical and ancient Near Eastern cultures differed significantly from those of medieval Jews in Fatimid Egypt (7th-12th cent. CE) as evidenced by the genizah findings. Examining these names presents us with important historical and anthropological data.[1]

“A person is called by three names: One that his father and mother gave him, one that people call him, and one that he acquires for himself. The best one is the one that he acquires for himself.” (Tanchuma, Vayakhel 1, ninth century CE)

— Part 1 —Names in the Bible and ANE

Naming as CreatingThe act of naming someone was a matter of great consequence in the Bible and in the ancient Near East. Indeed, it was widely believed that the name of a thing reflected its essence and very being; in other words, in some sense, the act of naming something meant creating it.[2]

This is reflected in the opening sentence of the Babylonian creation epic, Enuma Elish:

When the sky above was not named, and the earth beneath did not yet bear a name.

The same is implied in the opening creation story in Genesis (ch. 1), in which God names certain elements after creating them (vv. 5, 8, 10) and especially man and woman (Gen 5:2):

Male and female He created them. He blessed them and called them Man, on the day they were created.

Naming as Ownership or Sovereignty

From time immemorial, naming someone demonstrates sovereignty or mastery. Even now, parents name their children, and people name their pets. It is understood in biblical texts that names are generally given by parents. When Pharaoh’s daughter finds Moses in the Nile, she names him; this is a sign that she is planning to keep him and adopt him.

Kings Since the individual who confers a name is the master of its recipient, Ancient Near Eastern kings would sometimes rename a subject king to demonstrate his total control and mastery of him. A likely example of such a renaming is the case of the Philistine king of Ashkelon, Sharru-lu-dari, whose name means, “may the king live forever” in Akkadian, by the Assyrian king Sennacherib. Sennacherib likely gave him this name when he reestablished him as the king after a rebellion; it expresses Sharru-lu-dari’s loyalty to the Assyrian king, for his new name reflects the idea that Sennacherib should live forever.

The Bible records a clear case of renaming: according to 2Kings 24:17, when Nebuchadnezzar established the Judean king, also after a rebellion, he changed his name from Metaniah to Zedekiah.

And the king of Babylon appointed Mattaniah, his [Jehoiachin’s] uncle, king in his place, changing his name to Zedekiah.

Although it is unclear whether this specific name had any significance to the Babylonian overlord, the very fact of renaming demonstrates that Zedekiah is “owned” in some way by Nebuchadnezzar.

Adam A more subtle example of dominance through naming can be seen in the story of Adam and Eve. Adam’s being instructed by to give names to all the creatures demonstrates his domination over them (Genesis 2:19):

Gen 3:20 The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.[4]

God Finally, when God changes people’s names, God expresses adoption of them and thus dominion over them. For example, God changes the names of Abram and Sarai to Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 17:5, 15) as a sign that God has adopted them as His chosen couple. Moses does something similar for his protégé, Joshua (יהושע), whose name according to Num 13:16 was originally Hoshea (הושע).

The Literary Function of Names

In the Bible and the ancient Near East, a person’s name has a meaning. Ancient authors would give characters names that reflect their perception of their character or their role in the story. For example, the author of the Gilgamesh epic (re)names the survivor of the flood “Utnapishtim” (“he who found life”),[5] to emphasize that this person found eternal life, whereas Gilgamesh will not.

The biblical narrator also does this to express his negative opinion about a person, his deeds, beliefs, or life history. Anyone hearing the name would immediately understand the narrator’s negative attitude toward the person and thus be prepared psychologically to disapprove of that individual as well.

For example, the two sons of Elimelech and Naomi are named Mahlon and Kilyon, i.e., “disease” and “annihilation.” Is it any surprise that they die early on in the story? Another example is Abigail’s husband Nabal (1Sam 25:3). Not only does his name mean “boor,” but in the scence in which Abigail must calm David down after he was insulted by her husband, she literally says this:

1Sam 25:25 Please, my lord, pay no attention to that wretched fellow Nabal. For he is just what his name says: His name means ‘boor’ and he is a boor.[6]

Fateful Event or Decisive Action

The Bible sometimes offers explanations for a particular person’s name based on something that happened to the person (or to his parents). One example is the name Issachar, which means something like “receiving recompense.” The name is alternatively understood as the result of Leah’s hiring out (ש.כ.ר) Jacob from Rachel in return for her son’s mandrakes (Gen 30:16) or as the reward (ש.כ.ר) for Leah giving her maid Zilpah to her husband as a wife (Gen 30:18).

Jacob The two implied etymologies of the name Jacob (Ya’akov) likewise reflect fateful events. One etymology is found in Genesis 25:26:

Gen 27:36 And he said: ‘Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he has tricked me these two times…

In both cases, Jacob’s name derives from the root ע.ק.ב; however, the first time it is used in the sense of “a heel,” meaning following someone, whereas the second time the meaning is that of deceiving someone.[7] It is therefore not surprising, that at a certain point in the narrative, God changes Jacob’s name to Israel, so that the nation will not bear the name of a swindler.[8] Instead he is given a positive name and importantly, one with a theophoric element, namely with some form of God’s name in it.

Names with Theophoric Elements

In the Bible and throughout the ANE, many names included a theophoric element.[9] For example, the Egyptian name Rameses means “Son of Ra,” while Thutmose means “son of Thoth.”[10] The Akkadian name Sennacherib (Sîn-ahhī-erība) means “Sin sends many brothers” while Nebuchadnezzar (Nabu-kudurri-uṣur) likely means “Nabu protect the crown.”

This type of name was common in the Levant with gods such as Baal and El, as can be seen from documents of Mari (18th cent. BCE), Nuzi (14th– 15th cents. BCE), and the Bible. For example,

Israel (ישראל) went through a similar reinterpretation. It likely means, “El strives,” though it was interpreted as “He strives with El.”

Samuel (שמואל) and Ishmael (ישמעאל) are both versions of “El hears.”

Daniel (דניאל)—Danel (דנאל) in Ugaritic—is “El judges.”

Both from biblical evidence as well as archaeological evidence, it is clear that the most popular theophoric element in ancient Israel and Judah was yah or yahu, reflecting the name YHWH. Thus,

Yehoshua (“YHWH is salvation”),

Yehoram (“YHWH is exalted”),

Yehoshaphat (“YHWH has judged”),

Ahaziah (“YHWH has grasped”),

Eliyahu (“My god is YHWH”), a double theophoric name.

Names Tied to their Meaning

From all of the above, we see the significance of names in ancient times was tied to their meaning, and thus, relevant only to those who speak the native language.

This is very different than, for instance, modern American naming practices, in which the meaning of a person’s name, if there is one, is often unknown or irrelevant to that parents or the individual. Parents who choose names like Scott or Brenda are not thinking about the non-English etymologies, but have other considerations. As we shall see, this is also true of naming practices in later periods of Jewish history, in which the meaning is no longer the driving force behind naming.

— Part 2 —
Jewish Names in the Lands of Islam
in the Middle Ages

Babylonian and Persian Period Names: A Brief OverviewNot long after the destruction of Israel and Judah, the dominant language in the Cisjordan became Aramaic, and Aramaic names such as Ezra, Gibbar (Ezra 2:20), and Hatitah (Ezra 2:42) begin to appear. We also find a handful of Akkadian names in the Bible. Ezra 1:8 describes Sheshbazzar (perhaps a corrupt form of Shamash-aba-uṣur, “Shamash protect the father”) as a prominent member of the Davidic clan. Nehemiah 2:10 mentions Nehemiah’s arch rival, the leader of the Samaritans, whose name is Sanballat (Sin-uballiṭ, “Sin has saved”). The names of the Persian-Jewish heroes, Esther and Mordechai, are likely derived from Babylonian deities (Ishtar and Marduk respectively).

The lists of returnees contain a number of foreign names. In addition to some of the Aramic names referenced above, we find among those who return to Judah with Sheshbazzar (Ezra 2:2), for instance, someone with the Akkadian name Bilshan (Bēlšunu, “their Lord”), and another with the Persian name, Bagvai (“baga” means “god” in Persian).

Hellenistic and Rabbinic Periods After the conquest of Alexander, and years of Greek and then Roman rule, Greek became a dominant language in the Levant. Thus, in the Hellenistic period we begin to see the use of Greek names, such as Menelaus, Jason, Antipater, Aristobolus, etc. We also find some rabbis with Greek names, (Antigonus, Alexandri, etc.), but only infrequently.

Aramaic names, which as stated above, began to appear already in the Persian period, remain part of the repertoire well into the Mishnaic and Talmudic eras, (Abba, Akiva, Nehorai, Chiya, Shemaiah), perhaps even gaining in popularity over time.

We have a treasure-trove of information about 7th through 12th century Jewish society in Fatimid Egypt from the Cairo Geniza, including thousands of actual names. While studying this material, I recorded approximately 3,000 names cited in about 1,000 Genizah documents such as letters and court deeds, and it is on these findings that I wish to focus in the remainder of this piece.[11]

Intermittency (Paponomy) – Naming after GrandfathersBeginning already in the Hellenistic periods (the 3rd-1st cents. BCE) and under the influence of this culture, the Jews developed the custom of giving newborn boys the names of their grandfathers, who were still alive, out of a desire to show respect to the older generation, and family tradition. This is how the norm of intermittency – naming the grandson after the grandfather, one generation after the next – came about.[12]

This custom continued long after the Hellenistic period ended, and remains popular among Sephardic Jews to this day. The Geniza preserves numerous examples of intermittency, with the same names recurring in the genealogical records of many families. This brought about the preservation of specific names that were repeated over the generations, while other, new or fashionable names were very rare.

Boys: Dual Hebrew and Arabic Names

Already in the Hellenistic period, we find examples of people who had two names, once Greek and one Hebrew, such as Shlomtziyon Alexandra, Johanan Hyrcanus, Joseph Caiaphas, Yannaius Alexander, etc.[13] In the Fatimid period, the linking of a Jewish with a non-Jewish name became the fashion. At first, the non-Jewish names were used only in relations with non-Jews, but gradually people began to use both their Hebrew and non-Hebrew names without distinction.

Males were given two names,[14] one in Hebrew and one in Arabic, both of which were used concurrently.[15] (This reality should be very familiar to the modern English speaking readers.) There was usually a linguistic or thematic connection between the two names.

Someone with the Hebrew name Nathan, Nethanel (“[God] Gave,”) received one of the following Arabic names: Hibba, Hibbat Allah, Wahab, Wahib, Mawhub, ‘Ata, ‘Atia.[16]

Someone with the Hebrew name ‘Ovadia, “Worshiper of God,” received the equivalent Arabic name ‘Abdallah.

Shemaria (“God preserves”) received the Arabic name Mahfuth, Hafath, from the Arabic root meaning “preserve.”

No ironclad rule seems to have determined when a man would use his Hebrew or Arabic name, although an overall pattern is discernable. The Hebrew name was mostly used for functions that may be defined as religious in nature, such as receiving aliyot and in religious documents such as a ketubah. The Arabic name was mostly used for business and in interaction with the larger (non-Jewish) world.

Biblical-Quranic Male Names for BoysThe most common names used by Jewish society were biblical-quranic (i.e., names of people in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran). This was the practice of the larger Islamic community in which the Jews lived and its reproduction in the Jewish community attests to extensive Jewish social involvement in Islamic society and the strong influence of its customs on the Jewish inhabitants of Muslim areas.

The most popular names, many of which were virtually absent in the previous periods, were those of the major biblical figures also mentioned in the Quran, such as,

Abraham – Ibrahim,

Itzhak – Isak,

Ya’aqov – Ya’qub,

Moshe – Musa,

Aharon – Harun,

David – Daud,

Shlomo – Suliman.

These given names remain popular in present-day Arabic society, alongside traditional-religious Arabic names such as Muhammad or ‘Ali.

Alternatively, names of obscure figures in the Bible, and those that do not appear in the Quran, such as Adonia, Assaf, or Paltiel, were not used by the Muslims, and only rarely by the Jews. It was not Jewish tradition that determined the popularity of a particular name, but an aspect of the influence of the Muslim culture in which the Jews lived.

Giving children Arabic and quranic names was not indicative of conversion to Islam. In fact, Jews generally refrained from providing their offspring with Muslim names with obvious Muslim religious connotations.[17] In other words, giving one’s children biblical-quranic names points to the Jews’ desire to integrate into the society in which they lived, at least partially, with respect to the aspects of daily life, but not to the religion.[18]

Girls: Only Arabic names

Females played no role in synagogue life and had no practical need for a Hebrew name (even on the ketubah). Thus, girls were given only one name, usually a common Muslim one with no connection to either the Bible, the Quran, or Jewish tradition or history, and even their mothers or grandmothers.[19] Most female names describe certain characteristics or physical qualities, such as

Sa’ida – happy,

Na’ima – soft and gentle,

Mubaraka – blessed,

Faiza – winner,

Maymuna – happy.

I found only a few female Hebrew names, and these, too, were apparently originally Arabic names that had been given a Hebrew form, like the Hebrew name Malka from the Arabic name Malika, which means “queen” in both languages. I have not found any biblical names such as Sarah, Rivka or Leah.

Not Addressing a Woman by Her NameOne common practice was to address a woman, after her marriage, not by her given name but by a title based on the word sitt, which means lady, such as in sitt al-bayt (lady of the house), or sittal-dar (lady of the family). People referred to a woman as a lady of the house rather than an individual who participate in social, economic, or political life. This was intended to emphasize the fact that women did not take part in the world outside their homes, in the street or commercial life, but to reflect a literal (and rabbinic) interpretation of the verse “In all glorious things the king’s daughter is within” (Psalms 45:14).[20]

What Names Teach us about the Social and Legal Status of Women That women did not get Hebrew names and were not even addressed by their given names after marriage fits with their social and legal status in this culture, which was identical to that of their Muslim sisters, who were controlled and managed by men, with defined tasks in her home. Women’s domination by men lasted throughout every stage of their lives: as children, by their fathers; as young women, by their husbands; and in old age, usually by their first-born son. Not many women managed to achieve independent status, other than widows, divorcees, or single women with no men at their side.

The Jewish Success of Integrating
into the Muslim Society

The Jewish naming pattern for girls and boys in medieval Islamic societies is part of the overall historical picture. As a rule, the Jews were almost fully integrated into the surrounding society. This was both their aim and coincided with the goals of the Fatimid rulers of eleventh-century Egypt.[21] The Geniza records suggest that the Jews enjoyed full integration into the commercial and economic life of the country and to a large extent, the political activities of the kingdom as well.[22]

Many of the letters written by Jewish merchants attest to this, and mention business partnerships with Muslims, collaborations with clerks working for Muslim merchants, and even very friendly social relationships with Muslims. Other letters, of a public nature, demonstrate repeated political cooperation, when Jews needed the help of senior Muslim officials, and even vice versa, when influential Jews were able to help out Muslim acquaintances in need of their aid. In fact, Jews (and Christians) reached senior positions in the Fatimid administration – almost every Fatimid imam had a Jewish physician or financier.[23]

Summary

Exploring the nature and conduct of a society by given names offers an important historical and anthropological tool. As we saw, in the ANE, including ancient Israel and Judah, most names had meaning in the native language and names were chosen for this meaning, and this seems to hold true for the naming of boys and girls. The concept of naming after a relative is unattested.

A major shift begins in the Hellenistic era, in which the dominant culture has different practices and speaks a foreign language (Greek), and the specific meaning of the name becomes less important. By the time we get to Jewish society in Muslim society in the Middle Ages, all meanings are gone.[24] In place of naming for meaning we have a practice that treats naming as a selection from a menu or inventory book of important people from the past, whether in the Bible or in one’s family.

___________________

Prof. Elinoar Bareket is a Senior Lecturer at Achva Academic College, where she serves as the head of the History Department. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from Tel Aviv University in Jewish History. Bareket is a scholar of the Genizah, and uses a political-sociological lens to study the Jewish communities under Islamic rule in the early Middle Ages. Among her books are, The Jews of Egypt 1007-1055, based on Documents from the ‘Archive’ of Efraim ben Shemarya [Hebrew], Fustat on the Nile; The Jewish Elite in Medieval Egypt, and The Gaonite Era; Jews Under Islamic Rule During 7-12 Centuries.

12/12/2016

[1] This piece is a revised version of a talk delivered at 2016’s International Society of Biblical Literature conference in Seoul.

[4] This is a rare example of a story explaining a woman’s name in the bible. We have much less to go on when analyzing women’s names in the biblical period and I will be focusing on male names in this section. For more on female names in the biblical period, see: Johann J. Stamm, „Hebräische Frauennamen“ in Beiträge zur hebräischen und altorientalischen Namenkunde (OBO 30; Freiburg Universitätsverlag, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1980), 97-135.

[6] Another possible example is Saul’s son, Ish-bosheth, who rules in his father’s place for two years (2 Samuel 2:10) after the latter’s death. The name means “Man of Shame” and it makes no sense that his parents would have given him such a name. Indeed, in Chronicles we find that he was actually called Eshbaal (1 Chronicles 8:33). The narrator turns his name into something negative by changing the designation of the Canaanite god, Baal, to the term “boshet,” which means shame, apparently demonstrating the negative narrator’s attitude to both Saul’s son and the Canaanite god after whom he was named. Alternatively, the author of Samuel may have also originally written Ish-Baal, but this could have been changed by a later scribe, uncomfortable with the name. Thus, this example is less certain than that of Nabal.

[7] It is worth noting that most scholars believe both of these explanations to be folk etymologies. Most likely the name means “he will protect.” In the ANE, this name often came with a theophoric element, such as Yaaqob-El (El will protect) or the Hyksos Pharaoh Yaaqob-Hor (Horus will protect). See the HALOT entry for יעקב.

[8] Jacob also deceives Laban, following his father-in-law’s similar behavior towards him, and his own sons mislead him as well.

[10] The name Moses (משה), which means “son of” in Egyptian, is a hypocoristic (=shortened) form of this name, with an implied theophoric element. The same is likely true of the name Isaac (יצחק), “he will laugh” and, as referenced above, Jacob (יעקב), “he will protect.”

[11] The basis for analyzing them is somewhat informal, but I believe that this type of analysis provides a significant addition to the characterization of this society. My analysis focuses on given names only, and does not deal with the issue of family names and nicknames. Most of the people mentioned in these documents are referred to not only by their names, but also by their fathers’ and grandfathers’ names; thus, this survey gives us the opportunity to examine multi-generation family traditions.

[13] Interestingly, in the Persian period, we have a famous biblical example of a woman with two names: Esther (Persian) has a Hebrew name, Hadassah (“myrtle”).

[14] Names were specifically male or female; very few names were gender-neutral. As the naming practices differ for boys and girls, (as was also the custom in the biblical period), we will take each group separately and begin with boys.

[15] Almost any male in Muslim society, including the Jews had at least four or five names and nicknames:

Ism – first or private name;

Kunia – nickname after his first son or physical feature;

Nasab – according to his genealogy;

Nisba – according to his occupation or place of origin;

Laqab – title of honor or high position.

[16] “To give” in Arabic is either wahab or ‘ata.

[17] In this, the Jews differed from other groups under Islam, such as the Christians.

[18] Still today, in modern western society, Jews use names from the New Testament such as Marc, Matthew, Stephan, even Peter or Paul, but not Jesus or names with the term “Christ” in it (Christian, Christopher, Christina, etc.).

[19] Intermittency/paponomy was not a factor in naming girls.

[20] Critically speaking, this verse likely means something else entirely. But the rabbis understood it this way. See, for example, b. Gittin 12a, b. Shebuot 30a, as well as the praise for Kimchit found in a number of places in the Jerusalem Talmud, and discussed in the Marjorie Lehman’s TABS essay, “Kimchit’s Head Covering: Between Rabbis and Priests,” TheGemara.com, 2016.

[21] We know this from both Muslim chronicles and Genizah documents. There are many studies which deal with this subject, such as W.J Fischel, Jews in the Economic and Political Lifeof Mediaeval Islam, New York, 1969; S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 5 vo., especially vol. I, University of California Press, 1967, and more.

[22] This was not the first time Jews were fully integrated into a non-Jewish or non-Israelite society. Some other examples where we see this are in the Murashu tablets from Nippur in Babylonia and the Elephantine papyri in Egypt, both dating to the 5th century BCE.

[23] See for example M. Gil, The Tustaris; Family and Sect, The Diaspora Research Institute, Tel Aviv 1981, pp. 37-43. This trend continued for many centuries, under the Ayyubid and Mamluk dynasties. By then, however, it was more as a habit than a matter of forethought, because hostility toward the non-Muslim population grew stronger as time went on, and such far-reaching integration of the Jews in the social and economic fabric of Muslim society as that which had existed during the Fatimid era could no longer continue.

[24] As we noted above, this is true only of boys’ names. For girls’ names, meaning remains important; she is often referred to by a certain quality or physical feature. Nevertheless, a girl’s given name in this society is only temporary and falls out of use after marriage.

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